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Stepping away from blogging for a while

I know, this isn't exactly 40k related, but I wanted to break from the normal stuff and talk about something that has been following me in the shadows for some time now. It's the idea that your blog gets a hold of you and you feel as though you have to do certain things at certain times (posting, updates, pictures. etc) or you'll suddenly crash and burn and drop out of the 40k universe.

I don't know where the feeling comes from since we don't enter the blogging world knowing or feeling like that. I know I didn't... but somewhere along the line I read something or saw something that told me that how it was. Don't keep up and you'll be lost in the void.

The more that I blog, the more I don't think that's the case. Miss a day of posting and the world does not come to an end. I think it's nice to have a schedule for posting and it helps if you have tons of stuff you want to post about, but it's not the only thing in the blogging world. There are tons of blogs I follow that don't post on a schedule or anything that could be considered consistent, but I keep track of them.

How does this apply to me?
This year has been a tough one for me. Enough that I've decided that I need to step away from blogging for a little while at the start of the new year and focus on my family and real job. Having been recently promoted at work, I find myself looking at a bigger change than I anticipated and lots more work.

The time I normally carve out of my day for blogging has always come out of my family time. Don't get me wrong, I love to blog, but I love to do stuff with my family more and I'm not doing that as much as I would like to these days.

So what does it all mean?
I putting this site on hold for a while to spend my free time doing family stuff. I do have a few projects for folks that I've taken on that I'll be finishing and some others who are waiting. I'll be working on those as time permits after the new year.

I know or I'm pretty sure that lots of other folks struggle with this kind of thing as well. Where to spend your time and how much time at one thing is enough. I think the break will do me good. I don't have a return date in mind. I think I am going to see what the new year brings.

I struggled with turning the comments off on this post, but I have decided to leave them on as I think it might help folks talk about this kind of thing and their thoughts about blogging. I appreciate the huge amount of support I get from the online community through blogging and I only hope that folks understand.

I've always said family should come first.
Now it's time to live what I preach.

If you've got any questions about something in this post, shoot me a comment and I'll be glad to answer. Make sure to share your hobby tips and thoughts in the comments below!

61 comments:

Absolutely, real life takes precedence. I experienced a similar experience over the last couple months while school got very busy. While the blog is a great outlet, those who read it must understand the time commitment involved and appreciate we have lives outside of the blog.

Take care, Ron. You've done more for the community than most. No one will fault you for taking a break or slowing down the blogging if you decide to come back to it.

Always look out for #1, Ron - do what you have to do to keep yourself sane and happy! When I started blogging I had aspirations that I couldn't possibly live up to in the long run, so now I try and do one post a week but don't stress out if it stretches out beyond that. I'll post if I have something worth posting about, and if I don't, I don't. :)

We'll miss your insightful posts and fantastic advice while you're on sabbatical of course, however Real Life(tm) must take precedence. Spend time with the family! Best of luck with the new job (and congrats again)!

...And above all, a huge thank you for all you have done for the 40k blogging community over the years! I for one owe you a huge debt of gratitude for all of the excellent advice, tips and tricks you've shared, as well as keeping me plugging along when I was just getting started blogging all those years ago. (Where does the time go?)

I blog myself (albeit not about Warhammer), and I found the same thing after about three years of blogging. That, and once I was out of university, I didn't seem to have as much "free time" (what's that again?!)

I don't think anyone will fault you for taking care of yourself first. While it's sad that new content won't be posted for the foreseeable future, I know I for one will be using this site as a reference as I plug my way through painting my own models. So thanks!

I have mostly lurked for the last year on and off, and can say you are a bright star in the galaxy of 40K blogs, but you need to put your real life first, family, job, home these are what are important at the end of the day. You will be missed but I am sure we will see you again one day.

You need to do what you need to do for you and for family first. I tend to write at night after my wife and son go to sleep, as well as at lunch at work at times... but I only squeeze in a post a week on average.

Ultimately no matter what anyone says, though we're all saying the same thing, you need to focus on you and yours first. This is a hobby and it is called such. If it were your job, then that would be one thing, but it's not. it's a past time, and needs to be treated as such :)

No. You can't just leave. You have to think about us first. We feed you. Get your posts up to three times a week again instead of two times. Slacker

Some people. Unbelievable.

All kidding aside. I look forward to having stuff almost as impressive as yours when you stop by and check out the posts. Thanks for the inspiration, you're a constant source of it. Also thanks for the kind words. Will send a pic of my Grey Knight army when its complete so you can see how they work with the bases.

It's the right call man. Family first, everything else is a distant second. You run a solid blog and contribute immensely to the hobby and community. In fact, you are one of the guys that inspired me to start my blog. The blogging world will wait for your return and you'll be better for it. I think you are one of the few out there who can actually do more with less. That's a rare talent. Enjoy the hiatus and I hope it gives you the perspective you seek :)

Take care mate, and don't feel too bad, I know the feeling. Christmas time is crashing and burning me and I will be spending the next week or so with family and work, so I'm doing the same and know exactly what you mean.

Take it easy Ron, I feel ya.. My own blogging dropped right off in August when I got my own promotion.. work and responsibility wears on the soul, and I find myself spending more of my own time doing things that aren't very mentally taxing, and it helps.. but my hobbying suffers.

One of the best instructors I had in college was a Lithuanian immigrant to they US, who had survived the Second World War as a boy and made it to America. He was an extraordinary painter and person. I had a very,very trying freshman year in college...in fact, my whole life pretty much came apart - I lost my only parent and my home - he was instrumental in me retaining mt sanity, my GPA (for my scholarships) and staying in school. There was one piece of advice he used to give all of us concerning painting, but it works for most anything in life sometimes. Sometimes you work on something for a long time and it becomes hard to see what you are doing you need to "clean your eyeballs" as he would say (in his thick accent)... meaning you need a fresh perspective. "Go have a cup of tea, walk around the campus...." he would say to us during class. We even had one project he took away from us for 2 weeks around holiday break then gave it back to us to finish.

The point being fresh perspective is always good. In everything.

Blog when and if you can, but assuming you come back to it, you'll be better for the break. And we hope you do, because your blog has always been great. Best success in all your other endeavors too, my friend.

Completely agree with you mate. I too was promoted this year, and took on more responsibility at work. As such, I went from a daily posting schedule to a whenever I had something interesting to say posting schedule. Cant say that I regret it, and actually, my hits on the blog have gone up as I would hope my content has more meaning.

Enjoy the break, do what you have to, and blog when/if you can. You know we will all be here when your ready :)

Ron, I like you not only for you superb work but also because you're true to yourself. I hope you'll enjoy your quality time and i hope to see some of your work and thaughts in the new year sometime.Thank you for your advice and excellent posts. Have a good one. Geat stuff... :-)

The right decision Ron. Take as long as you need, you'll find rewards in your family for sure.Your site is the best out there for me. What a goldmine of tips and tricks and beautiful pics. Have a wonderful Christmas and hope to see you writing again in the future.Neal

Totally know where you are coming from Ron. The blogging is as much a part of the hobby addiction as the painting, modeling, playing, forum posting, rule wrangling, armylist building etc. It is an addiction and therefore it's not always healthy.

I know I'm compelled to carry on regardless of the increasing amounts of time spent doing all the above while battle reports are taking a couple of hours to write, and my fluff stories with artwork, graphics and background text even longer.

All props to you for acknowledging the need and actually taking the break. The first step is to be aware of the problem ;) Of course once your 'cured' dive back in again! One thing folk should do in this hiatus is perhaps go back through your old posts. Who knows what forgotten and hidden gems are knocking around...

I guess the thing to remember is that, unless your blog is your job, blogging is only a hobby, and as such shouldn't be something you feel obligated to do, and is much less important that family or work.

That's the reason I've never set myself a schedule for posting, or made promises about when I'll update, because I don't want the pressure, and I know that my workload is unpredictable enough that I couldn't realistically commit to any regular post schedule.

Take your time off Ron, I'm sure no one here is going to judge you for it, and remember that on the whole, this is not important.

Looking at the quality of your content, it's sometimes hard to imagine that you are actually doing this in your free time and not as a day job ;-) But like all the other guys said, take all the time you need to do things that are important to you!

After all, if you manage to recharge your batteries, we all win in the end ;-)

Thanks for all the fantastic content in 2012! Hope to hear from you again soon!

Your contribution has been nothing short of epic. You're one of the people that inspired me to start blogging. Since then I've found out how rewarding it is but also how much time and energy it takes to maintain, especially if you set the bar as high as you in terms of quality.

Even though I don't play 40K I always tune in to see what you're up to. Your honesty and integrity shine through and that's what makes your blog a 'must read' for so many people.

Totally respect your decision, do what your gut tells you and you won't go too far wrong in my experience.

Totally understand! I have to get underway 9 months every year on a ship. Blogging is just about when I have the time to do that AFTER everything else. You don't just die off, and google hits will keep your traffic up forever on old stuff anyways. You can easily get back on the horse if for nothing other than "look at what I painted" some pretty pictures, no explanation and that's it.

Real life always comes first, after all we're talking about toy soldiers here. Absolutely fantastically fun to work on plastic soldiers, but still just a leisurely pursuit that can only happen when one finds the time and energy.

Though there are certainly a a lot of people out there that really enjoy seeing your hobby antics pass by on regularly basis, including myself, it should stay fun and manageable for your as well. After all the challenges of the past year and the busy holiday season some off time seems more than deserved, no need to feel anything but revealed you can find the room to dedicated some extra time to the family!

On a more personal note I certainly get the blog/hobby burnout feeling. In between not really feeling the GW hobby anymore and a 'so called' grown up world that drains 60-70 work/travelling hours a week from my life and (both fun and annoying) social obligations I'm also struggling to find the energy for anything more than some forum interactions and staring at other people's awesome toys on blogs and other online sources. It's really annoying to how my hobby backlog there as a constant reminder of my lack of progress, stuff can be tough to juggle!

Enjoy the holidays Ron, recharge a bit, spend some quality time with the family and see what the new year brings!

It's certainly a well deserved break. I find that if you're struggling with blogging (or even the hobby), it suddenly become work instead of fun. Then it just feels increasingly like work until you don't want to do it at all anymore. Happens to me with armies.

A little time off to recharge your batteries sounds like just the ticket. Thank you for all the content you've produced thus far. I'm sure we can content ourselves with it until you decide to return.

Quality time with the family is important above all other things. I wish you very happy holidays and good luck in the new year!

Congrats on the promotion, and thank you for your time. I've learned a lot from you. You can take a break whenever, afterall this is pretty much a volunteer service you do for us, the gaming community. So go have some great family time, it is the most important thing.

I don't blame you, I tried to start up with this blogging lark and realised that it takes more time than I'd like to give up. Put your feet up for a bit and enjoy real life. There's more than enough in here already to keep us going for a long time. Thanks for your support, and even more thanks for your blog.

While of course you need to take the time to address your personal life first, and I would never suggest otherwise, on a personal note I am disappointed :) With the new Dark Angel units coming out, I was hoping to unashamedly copy all of your painting techniques that you were about to post on them. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; if that is the case, consider yourself flattered regularly :)

I've been reading you for a while now but never left a comment. I wanted to at least say thank you for your insights on painting. This blog is fairly unique and I'll keep checking it once in a while not to miss your return.

Ron:Family always takes precedence over anything else, and the job to maintain your family, second. It will be good for you to step away from some of the other things that make life a little more complicated. Take your time and enjoy your family, work, go travel, find new interests and rediscover old ones.

Your blog and your insightful articles on how to do things have always been my go-to place for inspiration and my own meager do-it-yourself projects. When you have time, post a little, if not, it's not a problem.

I will add my felicitations along with all the other followers of this blog and wish you continued success and happiness.

I've really enjoyed your blog- it's one of the first that I followed when I got back into 40k. It's helped me tremendously to become better at painting and other aspects of the hobby. I love the community aspect that you promote- I feel like part of such a big group! I hope everything goes exceedingly well for you.

I have found it is sometimes necessary to take a break, and what is great about a break, is that when you come back swingin, you have more enjoyment simply because you haven't done it in a while. Best of luck to you and your family Ron. You have made a lot of great stuff nd even inspired some of my own hobby tricks!!

It really is easy to get "lost" in everything when running a blog, particularly as you start to receive feedback from readers. The blog starts becoming more about what they want and less about what you want. Ultimately, this is your blog that you write because you an enjoy a hobby. If this is causing you stress or you simply feel like refocusing on more important things like family, friends, or even work then I doubt anyone will hold that against you.

So take care of your family. Enjoy life away from the computer and paintbrush and share your time with whatever you feel most important. We, your readers, will still be around whenever you choose to return.

So while I'll miss your often insightful and useful articles, I truly hope that no matter how you choose to spend your time that you will enjoy whatever it is you are doing.

Having experienced nearly exactly the same thing with my own blog, I understand how you feel and I applaud this very mature and well thought out decision. Go and enjoy your family and get cracking on your new job (congrats on the promotion). When you are ready to come back, we'll all be waiting for you.

You are making the right decision. Family must come first. I've taken a long hiatus off of blogging due to massive personal family loss. It helps when you don't feel like I just HAVE to blog something, and it's nice knowing that if you want to, you can come back to it.

Take your time. Focus on the important things. The blogosphere and the hobby will still be here when you get back.

Ron i just discovered your website today, and already i have learned and applied your techniques to my chaos apocalypse army and its really coming too life slowly. It's basic things like washes and highlights i didn't realize made models pop your work is stunning and i can tell your wisdom and painting level is appreciated in the w40k universe best of luck.

Hey there fella, just my penny worth. Great site, learned a load from just finding it this morn so kudos. I was in the same position last year and took a break that was needed as I got to feeling that everyone was almost hanging off my every word and waiting for the next script to pop up. Then I thought that people would shun me for not posting and bad mouth the fact that I'd let them down. There will be those but at the same time there are more that value you for your input rather than the quantity of the posts. Life still goes on and we're all still alive. You're probably feeling a little less angst which is great. So if and when you do decide to say hi it'll be with a fresh angle. Fantastic site, and it will stay that way even if you never pop another word on it.

Congratulations on your new promotion Ron. I think it's great that you set aside time for what is important to you and you should not feel bad about it. You have given so much to the people that follow you, in fact you were responsible for me starting to paint again after many years. I have thoroughly enjoyed the wealth of information you have shared and hope that you will still return from time to time but please enjoy your well deserved time, you have a responsibility to yourself and your family =) Cheers Mate!~josh

I've only just started blogging, and for sometime before I decided it was something I wanted to do, I took a lot of time looking at what others were doing, and found that regardless of what they were blogging about, many have felt the same or similar. Blogging, like so many things should be fun. The moment it becomes a chore, then it's time to either take a step back for a while or to stop. I don't really have a schedule at the moment, as I'm mainly reposting stuff I've posted on a few sites I'm on. As you said, a routine is good to a degree, but it's not going to be the end of the world if you miss a few posts ^_^

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